Day 33 Monday May 12

 Left Bradiford this morning to head off to Exeter on our way to Bath. Bit of a detour but well worth it. Driving through a little village called Crediton when we came across this massive church! Had to stop for a gander. Best part was it was open and free to go in. It was called The Collegiate Church of  The Holy Cross. 

The Collegiate Church 

It had a font inside from 1120 made of Devonshire Oak. Before the Norman conquest, Christian worship had been taking place in Crediton since a Saxon monastery was built in the area of this present church in 739 AD. After the removal of the see to Exeter, Crediton was created a collegiate church, possibly in compensation for losing its cathedral status. It was a truly magnificent building!

So much history inside. These statues are Sir John De Sully (1281-1387) and his wife Lady Isobel De Sully. He lived to 106. He was still fighting battles at 89, when he joined the Black Prince’s campaign in Gascony. He was injured here so decided to stop partaking in any more battles!

One of the stained glass windows

Memorials from 1620

This is the tomb from 1379, his body lies underneath this statue. Difficult to read his details.

Inside the church

From another angle

And another

St Boniface , missionary to Germany and the Netherlands was born here AD 680. 

Onto Exeter  and got stuck behind this tractor towing a trailer with hay bales! It was ginormous and how it didn’t tip over we’ll never know!

The tractor and trailer full of hay - travelling along the main road and then through the city centre!

Had a look at their cathedral. Another lovely building. Wandered past the Royal Albert Memorial - a museum but appeared to be undergoing some work! Stopped to get Gary a coffee, a small flat white that was so small I think she thought I asked for a baby chino!

Exeter Cathedral

Different angle of the Cathedral

It was much smaller than it looks in the photo!

Down to the Quay and a walk along the city walls. The land between the city wall and the River Exe has been reclaimed in stages. The process began in 1564-6 when a new stone quay was built to take cargoes to and from the small tub boats that travelled along the newly dug canal. A high wall once enclosed the quay to prevent smuggling.

The city walls and the Quay

On to Bath! May never take another shower after staying in the Bath! What an amazing place! Decided to head to the Roman Baths before heading to our accommodation. Us and fifty million very, very annoying people! Doesn’t anyone work in this country! Most probably didn’t take as much time as was needed to truly appreciate what an amazing place the Baths were - people would just stop and listen to their devices for ages making it hard to read all of the information. If you did get a chance, then lots of heavy breathing was done down your neck to get you to move on! However, it really is an interesting place full of history. 

The circular pool in the Baths

The bubbling hot spring- is around 46 degrees c!

This skeleton’s head was reconstructed, he was about 45 years old. He was found in a lead coffin originally fitted into a wooden coffin that was not preserved. They weren’t sure of the date but cremations were the normal funeral rite until 3rd century AD when burial became more popular 

The actual baths, this water temperature was much cooler. Stuck my fingers in!

The lead line coffin, you could walk over it as it was still in the ground and they had a glass floor covering it.

Another angle of the bubbling springs- much cleaner looking then the actual baths

The Baths again

The springs again

Us in front of the Baths

Bath has the only hot springs in Britain. For more than 7,000 years the steaming springs have drawn people here to worship, bathe and drink the water. You can see the springs bubbling from the ground. We even tasted the unique flavour of the mineral rich waters! I didn’t mind it, Gary did not like it at all! Gave him an upset stomach!

Me tasting the spa water, slightly warm and bit salty

Two thousand years ago the Romans believed the steaming waters were watched over by the goddess Sulis Minerva. They constructed a temple to worship her and baths to bathe in her waters. 

Then just up from the Baths is Bath Abbey - another sensational building. It was closed by the time we found it but might get a chance over the next few days! It was built in 1499.by Bishop Oliver King. But in 1539 it was dissolved by Henry V111. It was then repaired in 1572- 1618 and becomes the parish church for Bath. It was damaged after being bombed in WW11.  

Top of the Abbey

Abbey from the front

A view of the Abbey from the Roman Baths. 

The hospital of St John the Baptist founded in 1174.

The Cross Baths